November 1737 (2)
= Le Mercure Gallant - November 1737 = Weather this month *Becalmed in the Baltic. *Heavy rainfall in the East Indies. *Storms in the West Indies, Black Sea, and Northern Europe. Events Of Importte Pertaining To Recent Matters Mines of Mexico *Troops of the 1st Mexican Army under the command of General Pablos de la Cueva have moved to mines and forcibly evicted recalcitrant miners who had been unwilling to work. Scuffles broke out, but the miners concerned were all driven away. For the miner families a happier note was struck in Mexico City where juveniles from their number have been set free by the viceroy. Liege *General von Browne permitted the French 2nd Army to enter into Liege to serve alongside his own Liegois troops after General Trappanier, commanding, gave his word that they had come to defend the city as an ally. Stockholm *George Hornby, having just received news that he has been made a Knight of the Order of St. George, declared, “By thunder, and about time!”, and thenmade his introductions to the Queen of Sweden, informing Her Majesty that King George wishes to form closer relationships with the Swedish government and that ‘the loan that was established at the Bank of England for the Swedish government is forthwith forgiven and no further payments need to be made.’ He then added, “Madam, you have gotten off very lightly!” This statement caused some confusion at the Swedish Treasury since there are two Bank of England loans to the state outstanding, and it isn’t clear if this written-off loan applies to both, either, or neither of these. When a clerk sent by Treasurer Arvid Essen asked Sir George to find out which of these loans if any were involved, the English diplomat blustered, “Well how should I know, drat it, I’m just the messenger!” Strassburg *Outside Strassburg the French forces already spread out around the Prussian besiegers were reinforced until they amounted to 40 infantry battalions, 107 horse squadrons, and 50 artillery batteries. The senior command fell on the shoulders of General Villars, who once his troops were all fanned out facing the Prussians ordered an attack upon them to begin. The Prussian Armee de Tyrol remained facing the city and its garrison, attempts by the French to get a messenger to the defenders being thwarted by presence of these troops. Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau commanded the Zentral Army which took on the role of facing the oncoming unorthodox assault. The French attacked in what amounted to a wide, spread out, circle pushing inward. This forced Leopold to do likewise to face the threat, but his command was horribly outnumbered, consisting of only 27 battalions of foot and five squadrons of dragoons. The situation was made still worse when ten of the battalions, men of the Swiss Cantons and Munster, broke in panic even before battle was properly joined! Reacting quickly, Prince Leopold now had his outnumbered troops concentrate and sent word to the Armee de Tyrol to do likewise and turn around! Villars, observing this backward movement by Leopold, called a halt to the French advance, the stranglehold now being that much tighter, and while his troops dressed ranks had his artillery unlimbered. The massed cannon then thundered with a boom which echoed for miles around, down hills and over dale. While they were being brought up to new positions the French batteries which had been before Strassburg were utterly ruined, a fate which also befell a regiment of cuirassiers, the Minucci Regiment, which was cut down in droves. The Prussian lines were in complete chaos, order was breaking down and the situation very serious. Senior officers who died at this point included Colonel Piertzak, Colonel Lidih and Major von Fleider. Major-General Manfred von Richtofen, in tears, realised that his army was on the point of collapse. He begged Brigadier Otto von Kunshman for advice, who being singularly unimpressed by Richtofen’s lack of fighting spirit suggested he place the decision as to what to do in the capable hands of Prince Leopold von Anhalt- Dessau. This was duly done, and Prince Leopold, having ridden about the field to assess the situation, ordered Richtofen to surrender his command to the French while he, leading his own troops, would breakout against a weak section of the overstretched French circle. While the Armee de Tyrol formally surrendered, the Zentral Army performed a rapid march to the opposite side of the perimeter in a manoeuvre which threw the already exhausted soldiers of the Prince into deeper disarray. Villars, being aware of this movement, did not contest their attempted breakout directly but ordered Comte de Belle-Isle to pursue with 30 squadron of dragoons. He did so, pressing and goading the rear of the Prince’s force, catching stragglers and harassing in a controlled manner the retreating Prussians who were by now in a parlous state. A few howitzers were captured, and a large consignment of rafts, as well as siege ladders and horses. In desperation Leopold ordered the five dragoon squadrons of the Landgraf Hessen regiment to cover the retreat, but these found themselves enveloped and threatened on three sides and surrendered. The five Saxon battalions of the 43rd Brigade were next to be threatened, and also ended up following suit and surrendering. Leopold, who was having the worst day of his life so far, managed to get the rest of his command away and is now marching toward Nurnburg. He is blaming the disastrous performance of the Imperial Army upon the terrible condition in which the soldiers already were when confronted by the French. It was as if a bluff had been called and as a result things had gone horribly, horribly wrong. Cape Vaticano *A French corvette made as if intending to attempt to board an English East Indiamen. Grappling hooks were clearly held by sailors on deck as she got up her knots to close the distance when the Hindu sailors manning the English-flagged merchant ship fired a warning shot across the bow. This singular warning seems to have dissuaded the French from continuing to close, the cruiser veering off and leaving her prey alone (if that, indeed, was what was her intention). Suo *Mounted Samurai scouts have been seen close to Suo, Formosa. Fez *Sultan Al-Anbar has been told by Jose Imaz that once £300,000 is paid into the Spanish Treasury then Oran shall go to Morocco! Egypt *After many months of attempting to gain control of Egypt’s countryside the powers loyal to the Ottoman Sultan have finally managed to do so, wresting control off the rebel Syrians. Charles Town *While Duc Stefano de Christo and others looked on in horror from the shore a French-flagged squadron of nine cruisers, having entered the harbour at Charles Town, proceeded to sink no less than 20 helpless Spanish merchant ships, clogging the port up with their detritus. This naturally caused panic in the town, and troops who had been on exercise were recalled to Charles Town with alacrity to defend the place, although in practice no landings were attempted. Belgrade, &c. *Serbs loyal to the Ottoman Sultan have detained an Hungarian recruiting party in Belgrade. Similarly the town watch of Cluj in Transylvania and of Warsaw in Poland arrested Hungarians there, also for breaking local laws by attempting to recruit volunteers for a foreign power. Paderborn *The field army of Munster under General von Brumm moved toward the siege of Paderborn and threatened the French siege lines. The Munster army of 79 foot battalions, 70 horse squadrons, and 57 batteries deployed in battle array and appeared to be about to launch an attack. The Kaiser’s Reserve turned to face the relief effort, but so strong was this army of relief that Generalleutnant York, who is quite ill, felt compelled to abandon the siege operations and have the entire Prussian force deploy to face this new threat. This gave the Prussians a strength in the field of 104 infantry battalions, 61 cavalry squadrons, and 42 artillery batteries. However, it is understood that this army has been suffering desertions. Battle had not been joined when a few days later the 61st Brigade of Hussars, amounting to 3,000 sabres, rode off from the Prussian Reserve in the direction of Lippstadt, and ended up carrying out a direct charge against the right cavalry wing of Von Brumm’s army, having orders to attack with absolute determination! They were countercharged by the 21 dragoon squadrons of the Dortmund Brigade, who came against them in fine order. The protagonists adopted quite different tactics and formations, the Dortmunders using a conventional line of two squadrons with each formed three-ranks deep, coming forward at a slow trot. The Prussian hussars charged in four squadron lines on a slightly narrower front, although not as narrow as you might think since they were in two-rank lines, and charged at the gallop to the blare of bugles! It was observed that the hussars fell into disorder while doing so, possibly on account of not being in the best of condition. In a quick engagement the Prussian first line was overthrown and routed, the dragoons then ploughing into the second line which was also overwhelmed in short order. Despite risking being on blown horses, the Dortmunders defeated the third line with consummate ease and finally faced the fourth with a ‘hurrah’. Once again the Prussians easily had the worst of it, and the 61st Brigade was sent back to the Kaiser’s lines in utter rout. Versailles *Duke Charles of Lorraine has announced the betrothal of his daughter Eloise, Dame de St Charles to Louis Henri de Bourbon, and is happy for the couple to wed at either Paris or Versailles, as pleases King Charles. He then spoke on even weightier matters, “It is with a heavy heart that I must issue this warning to my friend the Kaiser. If he does not conclude peace and drop his draconian claims against the German princes by May 1738 then Lorraine shall be forced into a posture of hostility toward Prussia, and fight as an ally of France. I give this period of time and grace to my friend the Kaiser since I genuinely think well of him, after all nine years ago I did attend the man’s wedding! However logic dictates that should his policy of unification continue then Lorraine itself will eventually be a target of Prussian aggression. The King of France has most graciously guaranteed Lorraine’s independence. I ask the Kaiser to do the same, but if he does not then by the date given Lorraine shall be reluctantly at war with Prussia, and I shall press for the Kaiser to resign as Emperor and then stand for that candidature myself. May God direct his decision.” Cayuta *Great Chief Kirok of the Iroqouis has demanded Sir Thomas Able explain the news that his government is calling for settlers to move to ‘these lands’, stating flatly that ‘such an act would not be one of a friend.’ Do you mean to drive us from our lands with your new settlements, they wonder? What is the meaning of this? Bonn *General von Zeithen unleashed the soldiers of the 2nd Garde Brigade in a fresh bid to capture the breach in the main curtain wall of Bonn. This was defeated several times, much to the frustration of Zeithen who frankly think this brigade should have taken the breach and weren’t trying hard enough! Fortunately negotiations proved more satisfactory than the performance of Prussian arms in the field. Following a council of war held by officers of the Liegois Carabinier Garde it has been agreed that the garrison of Bonn will accept General von Ziethen’s offer of honours of war since the main curtain wall has been breached. The terms were that the garrison, with all flags unfurled and all cannon and other weapons of war in hand, marches to Liege and allows the Prussians possession of Bonn unopposed. This happened, giving Bonn to Prussia, while they observed that the garrison which left consisted of 24 battalions of foot, 10 cuirassier squadrons and a large artillery trayne including ten field batteries as well as fortress cannon and numerous lighter pieces. London *George Blake MP has tabled this question in Parliament: “Does His Majesty's Government believe that the state of Hesse-Kassel should centralise its treasury with the Imperial Treasury?” *Lord Bristol, the Minister for Home Affairs, has become the leader of the Tories. Having been summoned to a meeting with HRH King George he was informed that ‘the British people are depending upon him to assist in guiding the ship of state in this current climate of war.’ His Majesty confirmed the position and likewise confirmed the title that the good gentleman has held in many respects for some time: Lord Bristol is now to be known as the Prime Minister of George I’s government. Edo *Shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa has made an official visit to the new diplomats’ island in Edo harbour. He marvelled at the ingenuity and hard labour of the Japanese people in constructing this man-made island, and spoke with awe about the ornate bridge and gatehouse, both of which he praised for their intricacy and design. While in the garden in the middle of the island he announced, “Surely no more beautiful diplomatic quarter exists in the wide world! The ambassadors of England, Prussia and the Dutch Provinces are lucky to have such luxurious residences!” Ufa *Backed by the menacing swords of his officers, Major-General T. Dermiku of the 1st Russian Dragoon Division paid a visit to the Swedish mines at Ufa. After insisting on seeing the log books, Dermiku learnt that the Swedes are holding £344,830 in gold bullion at their mine here, and that currently production is predicted to run to £96,307 worth of gold per annum. The miners, so far as he can tell, are Swedes. Toulouse *A Flying Shuttle textile machine has been stolen from a textile factory in Toulouse! Athens *In conversation with Admiral Alvaro de Brazan, Marquis de Santa Cruz, the Chancellor of Athens University, Benjamin Robbins expressed his pride at having been educated at Athens himself and stated that it would take a lot to get him to leave. Budapest *Having been summoned to the royal palace to appear before King Ferenc Rakoczi of Hungary, the Polish diplomat John Bathory was told this by His Majesty: “Please may you remind the prince that Hungary desires friendship and trade between our nations, I hope your lord will agree.” The next to appear before the King was Major Pierre le Blanche of France. “Please send to your master confirmation of our alliance,” Ferenc said, “we remain his trusted ally and friend.” That evening, at a banquet it became clear that the above sentence had quite an impact on the Hungarian courtiers who took this to mean any Ottoman invasion would ensure a French army is sent to defend their homeland. The news utterly delights them! At the same event the King announced that his son Prince Ferenc Wilhelm Rakoczi, who was born in 1730, is now heir apparent, and presented him with a jewelled sword which from now on shall be the symbol of the heir to the throne. King Ferenc addressed the diners. “My friends, you have been asked here today to witness the naming of my son as heir apparent. I am also going to announce a change of military tactics. Shortly I shall reform our military in preparation for war. Hungary shall be a nation to be feared.” Caught up in patriotic zeal, the courtiers banged their plates and raised glasses. If some were worried that the gain of having France defend them would be lost if they went on the offensive, they did not show it. People being Much Admired by the Best in Société *Russia *France *Moghul India *Prussia *Hungary *Kwantung China *Blackbeard *Ottoman Rumelia *England *Spain *United Provinces *Sweden Shipping Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Movements *Braving bad weather at sea, the Prussian fleet of Admiral von Spree has safely reached the port of Portsmouth. *Spree has under sail 66 ship of the line, most of which belong to the Navy of England, 17 cruisers, and ten transports. *On dropping anchor Spree was informed by the port authorities that Shipyard No.2 ashore is available for use by his fleet. *Five Prussian and six Rumelian flagged merchant ships have been lost in Levantine waters, and three such French vessels in the English Channel. *A Turkish merchant captain claims he saw a Prussian vessel being overhauled by a Genoese cruiser off the Balearic Islands. *Several Prussian sea captains confirmed this, reporting their vessels were boarded but then set on their way after their log books were examined. *Ashore at Sidon there was a rising sense of panic when the French Levant Fleet commanded by Admiral Chateurenault appeared offshore. The fleet numbers 49 lineships, 10 ten cruisers, and 17 auxiliaries. *Seven Prussian merchantmen have been lost at sea in the West Indies. *15 Japanese trade junks have gone missing in the Bashi Channel. *Two Prussian traders have been reported as lost at sea in the English Channel, as have been two English ships carrying textiles in the North Sea, and another carrying iron. *Corvettes of the French Squadron of Marseilles have seen numerous English frigates in the English Channel which they gave a wide berth. Lloyds Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Losses from Causes Unknowne or Knowne *None. Ambassadorial Appointments *Sent by England to the Swiss Cantons, Sir John Blackwell. *Sent by Spain to Sweden, Joaquin de Larrocha. *Sent by Hungary to Sweden, Miklos Bercsenyi. Trade Missions Opened *By Spain in Zurich and New York. Automatically parsed by LGDRParser v1.0 Category:Game 2